Tony Mestres, President & CEO of Seattle Foundation, was featured on the front page of last week’s Puget Sound Business Journal. Mestres discussed the lagging pace of philanthropy in greater Seattle, and his organization’s work to tackle complex issues like education, transportation, housing, and income inequality. When asked about the most critical issue to focus on, Mestres said, “It’s impossible to not want to wave a magic wand on education. We know investing in a person early in their life has the greatest positive impact … A good education is the fastest route to leveling the playing field.” Read the full article here.

A March 2019 report by The Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University documented the economic impacts of Cherry Point on Whatcom County. According to the report, the Cherry Point Industrial Zone supports at least 3,320 jobs, which have an average wage of $110,690. Wages paid in Cherry Point accounted for 9 percent of all wages paid in the county. Opportunity Washington covered the report on a blog post, noting “it sheds light on the significance of the manufacturing industry in anchoring regional economies, an issue of statewide importance.” Read more here.

Boeing Sponsors Second Annual Washington STEM Signing Day

Last month, 49 seniors from across the state were celebrated as they made commitments to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) at our state’s and country’s top technical schools, colleges, and universities. The event, co-sponsored by Boeing and Washington STEM, was held in the state capitol building in Olympia. The day started with students being commended for their hard work on the Senate floor. Ted Colbert, Boeing Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President, congratulated the students and urged them to find mentors who will support them throughout their educational and career journeys. “The theme today is STEM signing,” said Colbert. “We watch these future athletes sign, today you guys are the future athletes. You are the future technology, science and math athletes of our world.” Read more and watch a video of the event by clicking here.

Microsoft Invites Students to Global Innovation Event

Every year, professionals from around the globe join Microsoft at Build, the company’s premier developer conference, to learn about new technologies, gain hands-on experience, and level-up their development skills. This year, Microsoft is inviting students to come with their parents and participate for free! From the Microsoft Blog: “The newly created Student Zone at Build is designed to provide an immersive educational experience for the students and attendees, with access to a Surface-equipped lab, on-site experts, a career center, workshops, tech talks and live co-coding opportunities.” Learn more about the event – which will take place May 6-8 at the Washington State Convention Center – here.

PACCAR’s Kenworth Trucks Unit Launches $140M Expansion

Bellevue-based PACCAR, Inc. has launched construction of a $140 million, 120,000 square-foot facility in Chillicothe, Ohio. According to the Puget Sound Business Journal, the facility is expected to open in 2021 and will be adjacent to the company’s 502,000 square-foot plant in Columbus. The project will create a state-of-the-art paint facility at its Chillicothe assembly plant, which has more than 2,000 employees who produce three of Kenworth’s model trucks, the T680, T880, and W990. Paccar said the painting facility will use robotics to increase painting capacity by 50 percent and include modern emission control systems. Learn more here.

PNNL’s Commitment to Transform the World

In a letter published in the Tri-City Herald, Dr. Steven Ashby, Director of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) wrote about PNNL’s “commitment to transform the world” through science and technology. “Our researchers are advancing scientific discovery in disciplines ranging from chemistry and materials science to biology and climate change. They are creating new catalysts and identifying the biomarkers of disease. They are exploring the biogeochemical processes that occur in fragile coastal ecosystems and revealing the mysteries of the universe by studying the physics of dark matter.” Dr. Ashby went onto write about the lab’s investments in the future generations, donating $273,000 last year toward STEM education. Read the full letter here.

Around The Table: McKinstry Co. and Avista

In ‘Around The Table,’ we highlight member news and share information on industry trends. In this edition, we shine the spotlight on McKinstry Co. and Avista.

McKinstry Celebrates Women in Construction Week

Earlier this month, Seattle-based McKinstry Co. published three blog posts celebrating women and the role they play in building innovation in the construction industry. “At McKinstry, we aspire to a world where there is gender equity in all aspects of the construction industry,” read the blog post. “This means plumbers and pipefitters, sheet metal workers and site superintendents, project engineers and designers. We know that women and men can work together and thrive in all parts of the industry – helping us to build a more innovative, inclusive, creative, and robust future of construction.” One blog post contained excerpts from interviews with five women who work as apprentices in the construction trades for McKinstry. Another post featured Raven Wiley, a commissioning intern in McKinstry’s Dallas office, who has embraced education to develop her career. Read all three posts at spark.mckinstry.com.

More than 3,000 Students Benefit from Indoor Growing Farms, Thanks to Avista Foundation

With financial support from Avista and other community organizations, more than 3,000 middle school students will be gaining valuable project-based learning (PBL) using indoor hydroponic growing farms. Gizmo-CDA is a non-profit organization committed to developing PBL curriculum. With grant support from Avista and others, they were able to purchase indoor growing farms and training to help teachers incorporate farm development into classroom learning. “The teaching opportunities are vast,” said Barb Mueller, Gizmo-CDA executive director. “Students develop actionable, achievable goals, manage projects and have the ability to analyze the environment. Innovative project-based learning is at the heart of preparing present and future generations to thrive!” In 2018, the Avista Foundation contributed more than $1.97 million to health and human services, community vitality, youth, arts and culture, education and environmental projects and activities in its five-state service area. Learn more here

In ‘Around The Table,’ we highlight member news and share information on industry trends. In this edition, we shine the spotlight on Virginia Mason, Wells Fargo, and Boeing.

Gary S. Kaplan Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

Dr. Gary S. Kaplan, chairman and CEO of Virginia Mason, is being honored with the 2019 Leaders in Health Care Lifetime Achievement Award from Seattle Business Magazine. Each year, the Leaders in Health Care Awards honor a remarkable assortment of compassionate people doing heroic work in Washington state. Since 2000, Dr. Kaplan has served as chairman and lead executive of Virginia Mason Health System in Seattle while continuing to work as a physician. “I am inspired by our responsibilities to our patients and team members and the opportunities to work with dedicated team members to effect much-needed change in health care,” he says. Read more about Dr. Kaplan and the award here.

Wells Fargo Donated $3.3 Million to Washington Nonprofits in 2018

Wells Fargo donated over $3.3 million through more than 250 grants to Washington nonprofits, schools, and community organizations in 2018 to help the communities and people of Washington. Wells Fargo’s philanthropic contributions build on a long history of collaboration with nonprofits and community leaders across Washington state to make a positive impact by addressing urgent community issues such as affordable housing, environmental sustainability, small business growth and access to education. When combined with the $761,500 donated by Wells Fargo’s Washington team members during its annual Community Support Campaign, nonprofits in the state received a total of $4.1 million from Wells Fargo and its team members in 2018. Read more about the company’s national philanthropic commitments here.

Boeing Hosts SkillsUSA Manufacturing Assembler Competition

Students from across the state came together in Everett on February 23 for the SkillsUSA Manufacturing Assembler State Competition. Hosted by Boeing, the competition featured a hands-on project that tested students’ knowledge and ability in skills common across all manufacturing industries. Competitors also participated in mock interviews with Boeing employees. “Boeing is proud to host this SkillsUSA competition and support the Core Plus Aerospace program,” said Dan Parker, Workforce Development K-12 Lead at Boeing. “This competition – and the aerospace manufacturing classes these competitors have been taking all year – will give students a clear advantage when they apply for a job, an apprenticeship program, or college.” Read more about the competition on the Core Plus Aerospace blog.